ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Science & Technology
Anusandhan Basketball Tournament at CSIR- National Institute of Oceanography
CSIR- National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula Goa is organising the Anusandhan Basketball Tournament during 24-27th June 2022. The main objectives of organizing such a sports event is to bring people of different laboratories together and help to establish new contacts, make new friends and to convey oneness in CSIR. This sports meet has brought 8 different CSIR laboratories to Goa for the BasketBall Tournament.
The Opening ceremony was held today at CSIR-NIO Auditorium. The Inaugural function was attended by the CSIR Sports Promotion Board President, Dr. Sanjeev Khosla, The Vice-President, Shri Mahendra Kumar Gupta and Secretary Dr. R. K. Sinha in the presence of Director CSIR-NIO, Prof Sunil Kumar Singh and State Basketball player and ex-staff member of CSIR-NIO Shri Gavin Walker. Later the participants pledged their willingness for participation in the games.
The BasketBall matches are being held at the Don Bosco Oratory Indoor Basketball court. Players from 9 different CSIR laboratories will be participating in this 4 day sports meet. The participating teams are as follows; CSIR- Central Electro Chemical Research Institute, Karaikudi ; CSIR- Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun, ; CSIR- Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute, Chennai ; CSIR- National Aerospace Laboratory, Bangalore ; CSIR- Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore ; CSIR-Indian Institute Of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad · CSIR-Institute Of Microbial Technology Chandigarh, , CSIR- National Institute Of Science Communication and Policy Research, New Delhi  and the host laboratory CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, Goa .
Ministry of Power
States asked to utilise unallocated power of the CGS only to meet the power requirement of their own Consumers
It has been brought to the notice of Ministry of Power that some States are not supplying power to their consumers and imposing load shedding. At the same time, they are also selling power in the power exchange at high price.
As per the guidelines for allocation of power, 15% power from the Central Generating Stations  are kept under “unallocated power” which is allocated by the Central Government to the needy States to meet the requirement of power of the consumers.
The responsibility to supply power to the consumers is of the distribution companies and they should first serve their consumers who have the right to receive 24x7 power. Thus, the distribution companies should not sell the power in the power exchange and starve their own consumers.
The States have therefore been requested to use the unallocated power for supplying electricity to the consumers of the State. In case of surplus power, the States have been requested to intimate to the Government of India so that this power can be reallocated to other needy State.
In case any state is found that they are not serving their consumers and selling power in the power exchanges at higher rate, the unallocated power of such states shall be withdrawn and allocated to other needy states.
Ministry of Agriculture &
Farmers Welfare
MSP Operations during Kharif Marketing Season 2020-21
About 56.55 Lakh Paddy Farmers have benefitted from KMS Procurement Operations with MSP value of Rs 86242.83 Crore
A quantity of 6767701 cotton bales valuing Rs.19815.07 Crore procured benefitting 13,12,274 farmers
In the ongoing Kharif Marketing Season  2020-21, Government continues to procure Kharif 2020-21 crops at MSP from farmers as per existing MSP Schemes.
Paddy procurement for Kharif 2020-21 is continuing smoothly in the procuring States & UTs of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pardesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal with purchase of over 456.79 LMTs of paddy up to 27.12.2020. This is an increase of 24.74% against the last year corresponding purchase of 366.19 LMT. Out of the total purchase of 456.79 LMT, Punjab alone has contributed 202.77 LMT which is 44.39% of total procurement.
About 56.55 Lac farmers have already been benefitted from the ongoing KMS procurement Operations with MSP value of Rs 86242.83 Crore.
Further, based on the proposal from the States, approval was accorded for procurement of 51.66 LMT of Pulse and Oilseeds of Kharif Marketing Season 2020 for the States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh under Price Support Scheme . Further, sanction for procurement of 1.23 LMT of Copra  for the States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala was also given. For other States/UTs, approval will also be accorded on receipt of proposals for procurement of Pulses, Oilseeds and Copra under PSS so that procurement of FAQ grade of these crops can be made at notified MSP for the year 2020-21 directly from the registered farmers, if the market rate goes below MSP during the notified harvesting period in the respective States/UTs by the Central Nodal Agencies through State nominated procuring agencies.
Upto 27.12.2020, the Government through its Nodal Agencies has procured 235753.71 MT of Moong, Urad, Groundnut Pods and Soybean having MSP value of Rs. 1262.16 Crores benefitting 1,27,576 farmers in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana and Rajasthan.
Similarly, 5089 MT of copra  having MSP value of Rs.52.40 Crore has been procured benefitting 3961 farmers in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu upto 27.12.2020 as against the last year corresponding purchase of 293.34 MT of copra. In respect of Copra and Urad, rates are ruling above MSP in most of the major producing States. The respective State/UTs Governments are making necessary arrangements for commencement of procurement from the date as decided by the respective States based on the arrivals in respect of Kharif Pulses and Oilseeds.
Procurement operations of seed cotton  under MSP are going on smoothly in the States of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Karnataka. Till 27.12.2020 a quantity of 6767701 cotton bales valuing Rs.19815.07 Crore has been procured benefitting 13,12,274 farmers.
Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises
POTENTIAL TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS BY MSMEs
Ministry of Tourism has initiated many steps in the area of technological advancement for the tourism sector inter-alia Multilingual Incredible India website and mobile app, 360 degree virtual tour, launch of utsav.gov.in, digitalization of the classification of accommodation units and recognition of travel trade service providers, Incredible India Tourist Facilitator  Certification programme for online learning, E-marketplace for IITFs/Guides, National Integrated Database of Hospitality Industry .
Further, the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises  has taken several initiatives recently, these inter-alia includes, adoption of dual criteria based definition of MSMEs, launch of Udyam portal to facilitate ease of registration, launch of Udyam Shakti portal, integration of Udyam with portals of Ministry of Labour and Employment and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, extension of non-tax benefits for 3 years.
The Ministry of MSME implements various schemes/programmes to encourage the growth of MSMEs in the areas of credit support, formalization, technological assistance, infrastructure development, skill development and training and market assistance. The schemes/programmes inter-alia include Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme , Credit Guarantee Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprises , Entrepreneurship Skill Development Programme  and Promotion of MSMEs in North East Region and Sikkim. The Udyam registered MSMEs engaged in tourism sector can also avail the benefits of schemes/programmes of this Ministry.
As per the information provided by Ministry of Tourism, the National Integrated Database of Hospitality Industry  portal is a technology driven system, aligned with vision of an "Aatmanirbhar Bharat", which is to facilitate digitalization and promote ease of doing business for hospitality and tourism sector, including MSMEs. It provides a clear picture on the geographical spread of the Hospitality & Tourism sector, its size, structure and existing capacity so as to offer relevant services to the industry like showcasing, Star Classification, Destinations, Attractions, Events, Customer Feedback etc.
Further, Ministry of MSME is facilitating inclusion and ease of doing business to ensure a seamless and supportive environment for MSMEs in the tourism sector, by providing permanent registration through an online portal i.e., 'Udyam Registration' . The process for Udyam Registration is totally free, fully digitalized and paperless. E-certificates with dynamic QR Code are issued online on completion of the registration process.
This information was given by Minister of State for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Education
IGNOU invites applications for various courses
Indira Gandhi National Open University announces admission to its Academic Programmes offered through ODL mode for the academic session commencing from January 2021. The University offers Masters Degree Programmes, Bachelors Degree Programmes, PG Diplomas &, Diplomas, PG Certificate & Certificates Programmes in various subjects. The application for admission is to be submitted online through the web link: https://ignouadmission.samarth.edu.in/. The last date for submitting the online applications is 15th March 2021.
The university is offering Masters and Bachelors Degree programmes in various subjects including Rural Development, Computer Applications, Tourism Studies, English, Hindi, Philosophy, Gandhi and Peace Studies, Education, Public Administration, Economics, History, Political Science, Sociology, Psychology, Adult Education, Extension and Development Studies, Gender and Development Studies, Distance Education, Anthropology, Commerce, Social Work, Dietetics and Food Services Management, Counselling and Family Therapy, Library and Information Science, Journalism and Mass communication, Environmental Studies etc. IGNOU is also offering Post Graduate Diploma, Diploma, and Certificate programmes on a wide range subjects.
 at the earliest in order to confirm the admission.
For further details contact IGNOU Regional Centre Trivandrum, Rajadhani Building, Killippalam, Karamana. P.O, Thiruvananthapuram 695002, Ph: 0471-2344113/2344120/9447044132 Email: rctrivandrum@ignou.ac.in.
Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises
MPs Shri Arun Singh & Meenakashi Lekhi launch KVIC’s Innovative Project DigniTEA in Delhi
To celebrate Sewa Diwas, which marks the birthday of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Khadi and Village Industries Commission  distributed 6 innovative cycle-mounted Tea/Coffee Selling units under Project DigniTEA in New Delhi on Thursday. The cycle-mounted tea/coffee selling units have been distributed to 6 unemployed local youths by Member of Parliament  Shri Arun Singh, and MP from New Delhi, Smt Meenakashi Lekhi in presence of KVIC Chairman Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena. These units will enable tea-sellers to earn a respectable livelihood while selling the beverages hygienically.
Each cycle-mounted Tea/Coffee Selling unit costs Rs 18,000 and has the provision for gas stove, gas cylinder, an umbrella, utensils and separate containers to keep tea, sugar, cups and snacks properly. On Thursday, KVIC also distributed 17 such units in different cities like Varanasi, Jaipur and Chandigarh.
Shri Arun Singh lauded this initiative of KVIC saying it was conceived keeping in view the welfare of the poor. The cycles were flagged off by Shri Singh from the office of Smt Lekhi at Mahadev Road. Smt Lekhi also said this KVIC initiative will enable poor to earn their livelihood with dignity.
KVIC Chairman said the cycle-mounted Tea/Coffee Selling unit is an innovative and cost-effective way of creating sustainable self-employment and distribution of these units aims at extending the benefit of welfare schemes to the poorest of the poor. “These cycle units are well equipped. It has been designed keeping in mind the logistical requirements and hygiene while selling tea/coffee to public,” Saxena said.
Special Service and Features
2.88 kg gold worth Rs.1.32 Croreseized by Chennai Air Customs.Three arrested.
On Saturday based on specific intelligence that gold was likely to be smuggled from Dubai, two passengersof Chennai and one of Ramanathapuramwho had arrived from Dubai by Flights Dubai FZ 8517 and Indigo Flight No 6E 8497 were intercepted at exit. On persistent questioning they confessed tobe carrying gold paste bundles concealed in rectum. On their personal searchtwelve bundles of gold paste were recovered from their rectumfrom which 2.77 Kg gold was recovered after extraction. Three gold bitsweighing 116 grams were also recovered from their pant pockets. Total 2.88kg gold of 24 k purity valued at Rs. 1.32 Crorewas recovered and seized under Customs Act 1962.All three have been arrested.
Further investigation is under progress.
This is stated in a press release issued by the Commissioner of Customs, Chennai International Airport.
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Ministry of Defence
GRSE lays the keel of 5th Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft
Kolkata: December 21, 2021
Celebrating Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav and continuing its march to achieve self-reliance in Warship building, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd.,  laid the Keel of 5th of eight Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Crafts  today at GRSE Main Works Unit Kolkata. The design of these ships has been done completely in-house by GRSE.
Shri V.L Kantha Rao, Additional Secretary and Director General , Ministry of Defence attended the event virtually as chief guest. Vice Admiral Kiran Deshmukh, Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition and other senior officials from Naval Headquarters also participated virtually. Shri V K Saxena, Chairman and Managing Director, GRSE, Shri Sanjeev Nayyar, Director , GRSE, Shri PR Hari, Director , GRSE, Shri RK Dash, Director , GRSE along with other senior officials of Indian Navy and GRSE were present at Main Works Unit Kolkata.
The keel laying ceremony marks a centuries old tradition heralding the start of a ship’s construction at site. As per GRSE’s custom, the keel laying of 5th ASWSWC was done by Shri Shyamal Kumar Sikdar, a senior operative of GRSE.
The 5th Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft is a part of eight such warships being built by GRSE. The order was bagged through a competitive bidding process. The primary role of shallow water craft is to conduct Anti-submarine operations in coastal waters, Low intensity maritime operations and Mine laying operations. The Craft is designed for a Deep Displacement of 750 Tons, Complement of 57 and capable of full scale Sub Surface Surveillance of Coastal Waters, Search Attack Unit  and Coordinated ASW operations with Aircraft. These Vessels are propelled by Water Jets capable of reaching maximum speed of 25 Knots and are compact and loaded with anti-submarine weapons .
Speaking on the occasion, Shri V.L Kantha Rao, said that the Acquisition Wing of the Ministry of Defence has formulated several measures to speed up the procurement in the Armed Forces. He complimented GRSE on its performance in shipbuilding and highlighted the tremendous shipbuilding opportunities in immediate future for Indian Shipbuilders. Shri V K Saxena stated that GRSE has delivered 70 ships to the Indian Navy and 15 more are at various stages of construction by GRSE. Shri Saxena acknowledged the support of the Indian Navy and the Warship Overseeing Team at Kolkata towards the achievement of several milestones by GRSE. He complimented team GRSE for achieving today’s milestone within 15 days of launching the Survey Vessel Large and that too at the same building berth.
Apart from building eight ASWSWCs for the Indian Navy, the Shipyard is currently executing indigenous shipbuilding projects which include three Advanced Frigates under Project 17A, four Survey Vessels  and one Fast Patrol Vessel for the Indian Coast Guard. With its core emphasis on exports, the shipyard is also building ships for the Republic of Guyana and a government agency of Bangladesh.
Ministry of Home Affairs
Functioning of NIA
The Central Government reviews administrative and legal requirements of National Investigation Agency  from time to time. Since 2019, the Government has taken several measures to enhance capacity of the NIA, which include as under:
- The NIA Act was amended in year 2019 to enlarge the mandate of the NIA by inclusion of offences related to human trafficking, manufacture & sale of prohibited arms, cyber-terrorism and offences under the Explosive Substances Act, 1908 and expand its jurisdictions beyond India.
- Unlawful Activities  Act, 1967 was amended in year 2019 to empower DG  to seize/attach the properties related to proceeds of terrorism in cases being investigated by the NIA.
- In order to enhance capacity of NIA in terms of specialists, the financial powers delegated to Director General of NIA for engaging consultants/ experts/ professionals have been enhanced.
- 481 posts and 10 new branch offices at Chandigarh, Ranchi, Imphal, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Patna, Jaipur, Bhopal and Bhubaneswar have been sanctioned.
Since its inception, the Central Government has entrusted 473 cases to the National Investigation Agency  for investigation. The year-wise details are as under:-
|
|
2009
|
|
08
|
|
2010
|
|
11
|
|
2011
|
|
16
|
|
2012
|
|
16
|
|
2013
|
|
27
|
|
2014
|
|
14
|
|
2015
|
|
21
|
|
2016
|
|
34
|
|
2017
|
|
36
|
|
2018
|
|
59
|
|
2019
|
|
62
|
|
2020
|
|
59
|
|
2021
|
|
61
|
|
2022 
|
|
49
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|
Total
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|
473
The increase in registration of cases by the NIA over the years is mainly due to the enhanced capacity of NIA with sanction of new Branch offices and the augmented scope of NIA.
This was stated by the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Nityanand Rai in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Railways
Indian Railways ensures 100% compliance of payment of minimum wages to contract workers through e-application Shramik Kalyan Portal
Move to benefit daily wage earners
As on 09.03.2021, Rs. 349590 lakh  wage amount and about 6 crores man-days registered on this portal across Indian Railways
Total 15,812 contractors and total 3,81,831 contract workers also registered on this portal till 09.03.2021
All PSUs working under Ministry of Railways are also using this e-application
This e-application helps Railways to keep vigil over wages disbursed by contractors to contract workers
(Indian Railway Shramik Kalyan e-application has been developed and launched on 1st October, 2018. E-Application ensures the compliance of provisions of Minimum Wages Act and also ensures that contractual workers working in Indian Railways get their rightful due by enforcing the contractors to regularly upload wage payment data into e-application. This helps Railways as Principal Employer, in keep vigil over wages disbursed by contractors to contract workers.
As on 09.03.2021, total 15,812 contractors and total 3,81,831 contract workers are registered on this portal. Along with this, total 48,312 no. of letter of acceptance , Rs. 349590 lakh wage amount and about 6 crores man-days are also registered on this portal across Indian Railways.
All PSUs working under Ministry of Railways are also using this e-application.
The Portal enables all the contractors of different units of Railways i.e., divisions/workshops/PUs/PSUs to register themselves on e-application and subsequently add Work Orders issued by different Railway units to them. The contractors have to create profile of each contract worker engaged by him for the work and update the wages provided to him on regular basis. There are checks in the portal to ensure that wages paid by the contractors conform to Minimum Wages fixed by Govt. of India time to time.
Railways’ bill passing authorities,before passing the contractors' bills, have to check whether the contract workers wage data have been uploaded by the contractor on e-application or not. For ensuring compliance of the same, necessary changes have also been made in the contract conditions.
Provision is available in the e-application to generate ID of the contract worker and also to send SMSs time to time about wages paid to him, contribution made to EPF and ESIC.
To have transparency, the public view also show at-a-glance summary of relevant details like number of active work orders, details of workers engaged and gross wages paid to workers till date across different Railway Units.
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
DARPG to conduct 12 National Good Governance Webinars on awarded initiatives under the PM’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration
Award winners to share their experiences, the webinars seek to disseminate the best practices to facilitate replication by other States/Districts
Calendar for Twelve Webinars for 2023-24 released, two awarded initiatives will be presented in each Webinar to be held on last Friday of every month
The National Good Governance Webinar for June 2023 to be held on 30 June 2023 on the theme “SAMAGRA SHIKSHA”
The Prime Minister has directed Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances  to hold virtual conferences/ webinars with District Collectors and other officers in which past award winners of PM’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration be invited to present their experiences with the objective of greater dissemination and replication.
In pursuance of the Prime Minister’s directions, the DARPG will conduct 12 National Good Governance Webinars in the year 2023-24. The DARPG today released the calendar for 12 Webinars under the National Good Governance Webinar Series. The National Good Governance Webinars are to be held on the last Friday of every month. The National Good Governance Webinar for June 2023 will be held on 30 June 2023 on the theme “SAMAGRA SHIKSHA”. The speakers would be District Collector Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh and District Collector Mahesana, Gujarat. District Collectors of all Districts of India and Secretaries of Administrative Reforms, State Administrative Training Institutes and Central Training Institutes, Officials of concerned line Departments of State Governments would be participating in these webinars. The calendar for the National Good Governance Webinar series can be accessed at https://darpg.gov.in/sites/default/files/Compendium23-24.pdf
In the year 2022-23, the DARPG conducted 13 National Good Governance Webinars from April, 2022 to April, 2023 to encourage dissemination and replication of the award-winning nominations under the Scheme of Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration. Each webinar was attended by about 1000 officials from Line Departments, State Governments and District Collectors.
The Vice President of India released the compendium of the National Good Governance Webinar Series 2022-23 on 20th April 2023 in the inaugural session of Civil Services Day events 2023.
Ministry of Agriculture &
Farmers Welfare
Visit of Indian delegation led by Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare to Be’er Milka Farm of Indian Farmer in Israel
The Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar along with an Indian delegation travelled extensively from Tel Aviv to visit to a desert boutique farm, Be’er Milka owned by a farmer of Indian origin Mr. Sharon Cherry in Negev desert area. This progressive farmer has adopted modern technologies with the technical support of Ramat Negev Agro Research Centre and is growing vegetables, fruits and super food in the heart of Negev desert. During the visit, the Indian delegation acquired information related to technological advancements in dry-land farming and support and outreach in applied agriculture by Israel’s regional research centres.